In the Dark
by freebird2992
Summary: Every great man has a great fear. This was his.


**Hey! I made another story despite my busy schedule Just goes to show you can accomplish a lot when you're supposed to be doing something else. :D haha! This story was based on a comic strip I've seen months ago and cannot find. I also could not get the story idea out of my head and thus this was born. So please read and review...and enjoy!**

**In the Dark**

**By freebird2992**

* * *

The first feeling was the cold.

A cool creeping chill that bit into his exposed skin and embedded itself deep within his flesh. He felt too numb to feel its pain. Darkness came with it as its only companion, an abysmal black that enveloped over him and dulled his senses leaving him shaking and unsure of himself while he shifted his feet.

Roy Mustang felt around him for an anchor, a source to hold onto, anything to keep him in place in the dark.

Roy blinked a couple of times and craned his neck around, not fully seeing what was there. Only the bitter cold and smothering darkness met his eyes. Although a small shift from his numb feet produced a swish of liquid. It told him that he was ankle deep in water.

Where was he?

Crossing his arms to generate a little heat, he blew a gust of hot breath ever his knuckles, feeling the skin loosen then tighten at the quick exposure of temperature. "It's cold," he said to no one in particular.

Even in the dark, his eyes scanned around him. There was nothing there. He was left all alone. The only thing that greeted him was the gentle swoosh of cold water brush like velvet across his shins. It didn't dawn on him that this was strange, or even remotely out of place. He didn't question how he got there, or wonder why he didn't remember what brought him there. He just felt uneasy. Anxious. He didn't like being there, he wanted to get out.

Then, after scanning the far off dark horizon, his eyes settled on a strange form only a couple yards away. It was odd. Even in this abysmal black he was able to make out a random shape. He turned towards the outlandish mass and took a step forward toward his only beacon to get a better look. A flash of golden hair caught his eye and the world stopped…just stopped. A black chasm opened up beneath him and the air was vacuumed out of his lungs.

The mass that appeared to be a pile of wet clothes at first glance was lit up by an unknown source. It illuminated across the water in ripples and sat like dead weight, patiently waiting to be found by none other than Roy who was suddenly stricken with mad grief. Roy stared at it. At her. White hot fear twisted around him in a death grip.

The prone figure was evidently a person. A woman with strands of familiar golden hair plastered over a pale face half out of the water. Riza Hawkeye faced him completely still, lying on her side and partially submerged in the icy water. Her hand held out in front of her, floating the water like a lily pad, begging for help.

Roy's breath hitched, "Lieutenant!"

His legs felt like they were running across molasses rather than water, slowing his short feat at getting to his Lieutenant's side. When he finally made it, he crashed his knees hard to the ground and lifted her up, "Lieutenant! Come on answer me!"

Riza laid there unmoving and unresponsive. Roy could visibly see his own breath escape from him in short torrents of white clouds. Nothing left Riza's parted lips. Not a cloud of air, not a short breath, not even a small gasp. She lay limply in his arms like a broken doll.

"Lieutenant! Open your eyes!"

An old memory crept up on Roy. He said these exact words to her in a similar situation. Blood was flowing freely from her neck and coated her face like an ugly slash of red paint. Even then he could feel her life force slowly dissipating into mist; he couldn't save her. This was different. At least back then he could feel her fading life in his arms. There was some assurance that she was still hanging on back then. This time there was nothing there. He couldn't feel her tiny struggles of breathing or her stubborn muscles contort in pain. She wasn't breathing. There was no source of life.

No source of life.

"Lieutenant! Lieutenant!" Her head simply lolled side to side at his desperate attempts to waken her. "…Lieu," he paused. Under a breath came a desperate whimpered voice, "…Riza…" When there was still no answer, he felt his voice take a feral streak across his burning throat. "Riza! You have to wake up! Riza!"

No response. Riza almost looked like she could melt away at any moment in this dark world. His grip tightened around her shoulders. A bitter whisper left him, "Riza."

He sunk his head down to her chest, while a sick agony clenched his gut threateningly. She was so cold. He lifted his head and stared into her face. Her blonde hair was plastered to her forehead like a second skin while her eyelids were sunken in and purple. They almost looked bruised. Her eyelashes twisted beneath her eyelids like butterflies, curving against her pale skin ready to fly away. And that was just it, her pale skin. He had never seen her seem so white and pale. She looked like…like…a ghost.

"Riza, I'm begging you…please, wake up." She didn't answer him. His hand pressed two fingers to her neck expecting, begging, for a simple sign of life. There was nothing. Her heart had ceased. There was nothing.

Nothing

"…Riza…"

Nothing.

"Riza, I need you to wake up for me."

Nothing.

"Riza. Please."

Nothing!

"Riza! Wake up!"

* * *

With a heartbeat and a short gasp, Roy bolted straight up in bed.

A blue hue of darkness greeted his senses; light from an outside streetlamp flooded the room. He could feel his heart hammering against his chest audibly, ringing in his ears like an iron church bell. Through his short gasps of breath he could see puffs of white smoke escape his chapped lips; the window to the bedroom had been blown open. In the midst of his nightmare, Roy must've kicked off the sheets. He ran a hand over his black hair and drew his knees into himself, an unaccomplished attempt at calming his racing heart.

With sudden realization dawning on him, he frantically turned to the right side of his bed, blindly searching for his companion. Riza laid there next to him completely still. Her golden hair caught light and fanned around her pillow like a halo. Her right hand was rested beside her face with her fingers curled in a frozen grip; it looked almost like she was holding a gun. Her face was turned towards Roy with half-parted lips and a peaceful expression gracing her features. She seemed completely at ease, and terrifyingly still.

A sharp spike unexpectedly struck through Roy. The deep agony he felt while holding Riza not breathing returned to him tenfold. Even if it was just a dream it was all too real, and all too familiar. Without thinking about it, Roy lowered himself down to her level, trying to make out her image even in the dark room. And despite those few weeks of being temporarily blind, Roy was still not used to maneuvering around without all of his senses. Even with the miracles of the philosopher's stone healing him, the dark left him in a bad place. His panicked state of mind did not allow him to think clearly enough.

Finally, he let his head fall on her chest. Pressing his face below her chin and above her heart which Roy, thankfully, as he let out a breath of relief, heard it beat healthily beneath her breast. Strong and alive.

The image of her cold and still filtered through his mind, but it slowly ebbed away with every beat of her heart. _She's alive. She's alright. She's alive_. He kept repeating that undeniable truth like a mantra over and over in his head.

It was too much for him to handle.

His whole body shook while his arms trailed up and clasped her shoulders.

Beneath him, eyes flickered under closed eyelids from a deep slumber. Riza opened her eyes to a mash of black hair tickling her nose and covering her mouth. To say that she was surprised was to say the least. Her shoulders were currently in a tight grip showing no signs of release, held desperately by a large body pinning her to the bed. It only took a moment for her to recognize him.

"Roy?"

At the sound of her voice, Roy snapped his head up and pushed himself up by his arms. Even in the dark of the night Riza could make out his fear melt into guilt and then flash into one of his charming smiles he would use on her to get out of paperwork. "I'm sorry did I wake you?"

_Odd._ "Is everything alright?"

Roy smiled down on her and placed a cold hand against her cheek, "it's fine," he assured. "There's nothing to worry about. It was just a dream." _It was _just_ a dream._

Riza frowned up at him. It was very unlike him to wake her over just some dream. She placed her hand over his that held her face, feeling his cold calluses like an old friend. If it weren't for the light, and her sharp eyes heightened from years of being a sniper, she would've missed it. A tiny glimmer making a trail down the side of his face; he was crying. The tear glowed on his face creating an ethereal river down the side of his left cheek. Without thinking, Riza left his cold hand and raised hers up to his face. Softly, a slight but supportive feather touch, her thumb brushed away the tear.

He could never hide anything from her.

Roy felt her simple brush of her thumb like it wiped away everything he witnessed in his nightmare. He looked down to her, alive and breathing, smiling comfortingly up at him like an angel. He let his body slowly fall than mold on top of hers into a tight embrace. He felt her arms encircle around his neck, rubbing away any anxiety left over the only way she knew she could.

"It's alright," she whispered soothingly.

"I know."

The blissful silence and feeling her alive was all that Roy needed. They laid like that for a long while, eventually both succumbing to sleep into a dreamless world where it was only the two of them.

* * *

**And there you have it, hope it was enjoyable. Please RR!**


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